


sticker happy

by adaosix



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Donghyuck is sad, M/M, OC is male - Freeform, at least i think it is?, dare i say a hopeless romantic minus the romantic, main ship is male oc/hyuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-24 10:01:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14952530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adaosix/pseuds/adaosix
Summary: A million thoughts whirlpooled inside Donghyuck's head, one of them mainly of the thought of being found out, by a stranger no less, spreading word about how NCT’s Haechan had been into boys all along.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this will probably be really sad?  
> also, ive been introduced to hyuckhei a while back but i only just realized how good of a pair they are lol thats why i included them. sorry im late? but they're a side pair, along with the others (except for oc/hyuck)  
> i don't even know if there are any good full scenes with the side pairings. cue the 'if u squint hard enough' card
> 
> oc is male, and his name is jaewon. if there are idols/actors with the same name its not them. if there are though, pls tell me lol
> 
> p.s please dont hate me im just really sad & sorry for the short chapters! i can't do a one-take
> 
> in case u have bad memory, this is a male oc/donghyuck fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> expect slow updates

 

If it were any other day, Donghyuck wouldn’t have done it.

There was a dog, sprawled on the pavement by the old, tiny shop that sold glasses, just beside the tiny restaurant he’d frequented at. Shaded by the huge planter it lay there with all paws spread out, head lazily resting on ragged concrete. It looked old and ugly. But looked friendly enough.

He hesitated, opted to eat first, and so he did. In a hurried manner, he entered the restaurant, ordered, ate, and left with a half-empty cup of Coke on his left hand. The dog was still on its spot, and so he heaved a sigh of relief. 

If it were any other day, Donghyuck would have forced one of the Dream members to go and eat with him, because 127 just wasn’t his forte, because he craved for the constant company, and just because. But it wasn’t, because Donghyuck was alone, begrudgingly trudging down the empty streets by himself. Maybe the others had found him extra annoying, maybe they just didn’t want to go, or maybe Donghyuck was just extremely sad. He wouldn’t normally show it, his emotions that wasn’t of joy and whatnot, but it wasn’t like any other day.

He’d woken up extremely down, and so he’d left the dorm alone.

The dog looked friendly enough.

If he were to be bitten, maybe he would be featured in some online news articles again. But he held on to the one tiny hope that he could just beg their manager not to tell – _if._ Just secretly go to the doctors and get a shot and all that.

But the dog didn’t bite, nor did it react in any way, when Donghyuck had finally gathered the courage to crouch in front of it, right hand warily hovered over its head, left hand still preoccupied with the drink. He caressed its head, fingers steadily making their way to the dog’s back, to its head again, and so on.

It let out a small whine, in an old, lazy kind of way. The dog _was_ friendly.

“Hey there, buddy.” The roughness of its fur felt unpleasant under his touch. He hesitated a moment, and then another, when the dog slightly moved its head, the rough of the concrete scrunching under its chin, only for Donghyuck to realize it was only just that, and so regained composure as he continued. “What's your name? I’m really glad you're nice. You must have a nice owner too, huh?”

“You know, you look like you can keep secrets,” he added, voice of low resonance, thoughts under the bush.

Donghyuck felt so, so distracted, but he let it be for now.

“Care to keep a secret for me, bud? I'm an idol, you get to know the good shit.” The drink he’d previously held was now on the ground, his left hand had gravitated towards the area under the dog's ear and then down to its rough, wrinkled cheeks. It felt sticky.

The hoodie he'd been wearing proved useful because no one dared look his way, but he figured no one would notice anyway, with or without the piece of cloth covering him.

"I take it you're a safe one. You don’t talk.” 

He was met with no response, to no surprise, but Donghyuck had hoped the dog would at least grunt, huff or snort, a sort of miniscule assurance that someone cared to listen. He continued nonetheless, as he carefully seated himself on the dry pavement. Luckily the clouds were on his side. It wasn’t as hot as before.

"You know, I’m well aware there are always things that I will never get. People, too. People I like. I can't ever get them to like me back. Or just—I don't know? If not kiss then hug me back, at the very least."

Donghyuck only remembered the drink when his thigh brushed the cold surface of the plastic cup. He picked it up, stabbed the straw, and took a sip.

“I don’t know, it’s just saddening. It’s hard not to fall in love. I’m sure you’ve fallen in love with another dog. You get me.”

Donghyuck was absolutely going crazy.

The clouds had moved and the sun was starting to seep through Donghyuck’s faded blue hoodie, crouched under its glaring rays; he was starting to sweat, face to face with a dog he didn’t even know, and it was still 8 in the morning.

Donghyuck faintly remembered about the owner, and that there _should_ be an owner, so he craned his neck and peeked inside of the glass window, only to decipher moving silhouettes.

"Good thing your owner's a slowpoke," Donghyuck pressed his lips, "Shit I don't think I’ll be able to get past this. I live with them. I know their bad sides. But I still like them. I'm 19, I'm bound to fall in love. The only problem is that they don't like me back. You know why? I know why. They don't like boys, like me, like that, like how I love them." Donghyuck paused and lightly pinched the dog's ear. "Can you sigh for me, buddy?" he muttered, clearly as a joke, but the dog did just that, and by coincidence or not, Donghyuck didn’t mind, because he laughed, still. Maybe the dog _was_ listening.

"Honestly fuck my life. Fuck Mark-hyung. Fuck Yukhei-hyung. And maybe Renjun, too. And Jeno. and Taeyong-hyung." Donghyuck whined. "I fall in love way too fast."

“Nothing wrong with falling in love," said an unfamiliar voice behind Donghyuck, in a way that was smooth and reassuring but made him grimace slightly; he could pick out a silent mock. "Even for idols," it added, but significantly in a more quiet tone.

Donghyuck jumped at the incursion and quickly lowered his hoodie by instinct. He slowly turned to where the voice was and was met with a man in glasses, significantly taller than him by a head, in grainy sweatshirt and dark grey shorts, wearing all-white sneakers. His brown hair was slightly tussled. Donghyuck quickly lowered back his gaze, and so didn’t actually see the stranger’s face to properly pick out any features.

A million thoughts whirlpooled inside Donghyuck's head, one of them mainly of the thought of being found out, by a stranger no less. Maybe he should have just confessed. The possibility of the stranger being an asshole and that he was going spread word about how NCT’s Haechan had been into boys all along made his stomach churn.

The dog slowly got up and wobbled towards the stranger and Donghyuck didn't need another second to realize he was the owner.

"Hey there, Moose, sorry I took so long, buddy." He watched the stranger in silent reverie as he picked the dog-- _Moose_ , gently, as he kissed him lightly on the nose. It was a nice sight to see, and the name Moose strangely suited the dog. The stranger then moved his attention to Donghyuck on the ground, and held out a hand as he greeted him hello.

Donghyuck hesitated yet again, but shyly accepted the help anyway, figured it would be impolite not to. Even in a situation like this.

Donghyuck begrudgingly raised his head, just enough to see half of his face; the stranger smiled, and Donghyuck only prayed the stranger wouldn’t tell on him.

They stayed silent for a while, save for Moose's frequent groans and huffs.

"Please don't tell," Donghyuck broke the silence with a silent plead. Did he hear everything?

"I won't. I'm not too crazy on exposing idols," the stranger reassured. Donghyuck could only hope it true.

"You're from NCT, right?" the stranger added, and looked quite unsure when he said, “Haechan?”

Donghyuck’s back didn’t seem as hot as before but the condensation on the cup on his hand still had a constant drip, and as the droplets seeped through the concrete, so did Donghyuck’s remaining courage left. Donghyuck wanted to run.

And maybe Donghyuck regretted saying yes to the question, and maybe he regretted looking the man straight in the eyes as he did so, regretted feeling a little happy when he said his name (because the stranger actually  _knew_ his name); Donghyuck had all the chances to lie, to stop himself from looking up, even. But he didn’t.

And should love be personified, Donghyuck would think it a weary man; hollowed eyes, ragged breathing, weakened arms; just as he was, as he was in his reflection on the stranger’s eyes, as he was in Moose’s.

Should love be stomped on and pushed and killed, Donghyuck would have already done it back then, because love was unexpected and ugly, and it didn’t need meaning to bloom, as it didn’t need meaning to die.

“You don’t look like a Haechan in person,” said the stranger, in a matter-of-factly kind of way.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello

 

Donghyuck never saw the stranger after that.

He was scared, and he didn’t know why.

The stranger was scary, and he didn’t know why either. No matter how hard he pried open any rational thoughts in him, which was significantly slowly decreasing in numbers (he’d noticed; after every exhausting promotions they had seemed to just fade in growing numbers), he couldn’t find answers.

Maybe it was just because of the situation, of how he was heard, of how the stranger talked, of how Donghyuck practically ran away after.

Four days had passed, and Donghyuck had been refraining himself from going to the restaurant just because he felt the need to avoid even the possibility of meeting him again, when he knew he could meet him practically anywhere.

The stranger was scary, of no justifiable reasons.

But he thought it rational in a way, as far as gut feelings go.

Donghyuck had been waiting for news about him, for the manager’s call, for gossip to spread. He thought about the possibility of being recorded by the stranger back then, and how his voice had a distinct tone that just screamed his name. But nothing came.

He wanted to forget, to trust the stranger’s words, but he couldn’t, and so he lived the following days anxious and scared.

And Donghyuck was still so, _so_ distracted—of the stranger, but mainly of _everything_ except the stranger:

He never bothered talking _it_ out to anyone, and so concluded it was just this—time. He was maturing, growing, in a place where he was bound to this and that; and so wrapped himself in a cocoon where limited actions are a norm, all the while given equally limited answers to who and where and why, because on a rainy Saturday last year he found himself falling in love with Mark and he didn’t know why.

But he’d accepted it along the way (because ignoring it was harder), and kept quiet while doing so.

Accepting was hard, too. It had always been frustrating; but loving from afar, no matter how upsetting, was better than ignoring it altogether.

Donghyuck reasoned in time he’d grow out of it, stuck to that one idea ever since, and just let it be; no matter the growing feelings of jealousy, frustration, and love he’d have.

 _I’ll grow out of it, just let it be,_ he’d always say.

But this didn’t mean he wanted no reaction. He was always the one giving; he craved for love too, even just a tiny bit.

Only a stranger and his dog knew and it didn’t seem okay at all.

 

-

 

 “Hyuck, get ready. We’re all eating out.” Johnny’s voice rang from the hallway as he walked towards the living room. He grabbed the black coat splayed on the arm of the couch.

Donghyuck, who was leaning on the kitchen counter eating leftover food flinched at the sudden voice. He knew about the dinner night out, Doyoung had told them this afternoon after the group’s quick stop at the studio. Donghyuck, however, had planned on spending the night curled up in his room for an early night, thus the early dinner (the leftover pancakes he made this morning), and wanted to reason with Johnny because he’d planned this yesterday and Doyoung’s only came after.

But before he could open his mouth to talk, Johnny was already telling him about how Doyoung would take no for an answer, and all of Johnny’s words were pushed into the background, seemingly forgotten, as he begrudgingly thought about spending time doing unecessary things on a night like this; uneventful, free. He would rather sleep, make time for himself.

“Can I not go?” Donghyuck pleaded, although the chances of Johnny actually letting him off the hook were close to zero.

And zero it actually was, as he could only groan silently when Johnny faced him just to shrug. With no choice left, Donghyuck painfully dragged himself to Jaehyun and his’ shared bedroom for a quick change, walked out the door with the same pace, only to meet Mark making his way out of his own room.

Their shoulders touched in the narrow corridor, none of them bothering to walk in front of the other. Mark gave him a playful shove on the shoulder and Donghyuck’s chest felt a little lighter then. It was always a nice feeling bickering with Mark. “No pass, huh?” he teased when they approached the main door. Donghyuck only rolled his eyes at him.

Johnny was already out the door talking with Sicheng and Taeil on the hallway when both Mark and Donghyuck finished toeing in their shoes. All the others were probably already out to where Donghyuck didn’t actually care because there was only silence, save for their own voices and the dorms were never silent.

“Where were you guys?” Mark asked the Sicheng and Taeil when they reached the buildings glass door. Donghyuck was the last one out as he chose to trail behind the three other males. The sun had already set and Donghyuck could feel the coming breeze seep through his sweater. He shuddered.

“I was hanging out with my friends when Taeil-hyung asked me to stop by the studio. We were just about to part anyway so I went. And then Doyoung texted us. Seriously, I was getting kind of tired but I was feeling kinda hungry too so it’s a win-win,” Sicheng said without much thought but paused for a second when they turned a corner. “Oh, damn I totally just made a pun.”

Johnny lightly kicked Sicheng by the shin and Taeil silently laughed at the two. “Corny,” Johnny commented.

They stayed like that throughout the walk to the restaurant, gave small talks and jokes, too tired to put up concrete conversations. Donghyuck had his arms linked around Mark’s now; the cold breeze made him wish he wasn’t so dumb not to wear thicker clothing. But Mark was warm and showed no intentions of shooing him away, and Donghyuck felt warm inside despite the waking goosebumps on his skin. The entirety of the current situation wasn’t so bad after all.

He was the closest to Mark than anyone else and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Mark paid no mind anyway.

The restaurant Doyoung had texted them was just six blocks away and when they arrived all of the others were already there. They’ve been to the place a couple of times, and Donghyuck could only sigh a relief when he’d realized it was located on the opposite end the dorm, away from the shop he’d come to despise.

Fortunately for them the restaurant wasn’t packed. A few people recognized them but no one dared walk their way to them, just curious glances and all that jazz.

Donghyuck was sat in-between Renjun and Mark on a really long table, while Johnny, Taeil, and Sicheng found themselves sitting by the bricked wall, not a little farther than them.

The evening passed rather fine, and Donghyuck found himself agreeing to Sicheng. He was kind of hungry, too, despite the leftover food back in the dorm.

Donghyuck, who was greatly opposed of the idea only a few hours ago, had been one of the noisiest out of all of them. Yukhei came in second just because of the blaring laughs that came after every little thing he’d found funny, which was a lot, and then Donghyuck would laugh too, just because.

Johnny and Mark were enthusiastically talking something about something Donghyuck totally didn’t care about, and Kun had somehow made an audience within the group with his infamous magic tricks. Jeno was totally into it, and Donghyuck would sometimes find himself adoring the his smile whenever he’d find the trick amusing.

Donghyuck would notice Chenle shooting him weird looks from across the table, and he’d always had an inkling Chenle’d always knew, but Chenle was smart, knew better despite being the youngest, so he would always choose to stay silent, which Donghyuck was absolutely thankful for. What would it result to than chaos within the group anyway, if it were to escape a wicked mouth.

A group of people entered the restaurant, which Donghyuck presumed the majority of them drunk, because one guy was staggering and another was being aided by two others who were struggling less than the first man throughout the walk to an empty table, slumping on the chairs when they reached it. Only one person seemed sober enough to walk straight and sit properly.

For why they thought it was a good idea to enter a restaurant too drunk to even read the menu with only less than an hour before closing time, Donghyuck didn’t bother. From his seat he could see them very well as he was directly lined with their table on the far side of the restaurant and the seemingly sober man was now staring right at him, and then slowly glanced to Donghyuck’s left and right—Donghyuck carefully followed the man’s eyes: to Mark, and then to Renjun, and then back to him again.

It didn’t hit him right then and there, or the second they entered the restaurant even, probably too distracted by the turn of events and the fun of it. Donghyuck only realized the man staring at him was the same man he met back at the glasses shop, when their eyes met for at least two seconds. He painfully pinched himself on the thigh for not realizing sooner.

Donghyuck wanted out again, the same instinct he’d had back then suddenly spiraled back to him. It all went too fast from there, as Donghyuck suddenly got up from his seat, the drag of the chair startling the other members that were near enough. He gave an excuse to go out; gave an excuse as how it was becoming stuffy, and he wanted fresh air.

Taeyong nodded, and Doyoung added a “don’t go too far.” Donghyuck had hoped someone would volunteer to accompany him, but no one made a move because Yuta was telling the group a story which proved interesting enough for the others to totally immerse themselves to him.

 

-

 

The gush of the cold breeze felt safe.

Donghyuck found himself sitting on the huge semi-connected planters by the gates, keeping Doyoung’s warning in mind. It was well past 10 in the evening and fortunately there weren’t too many passersby.

He sighed, with both his hands shoved inside his pockets. What were the chances of meeting the stranger again, really. Of course he wouldn’t always be in that street, in that shop, every day for eternity. Of course there would still be chances of meeting him in a place that was not where he saw Moose. Donghyuck sighed yet again, and hoped this was all a dream.

But it wasn’t, and knew it never will be, when a voice that was so vaguely familiar rang through his ears.

“Hi,” it said.

Donghyuck turned to the voice, and there by the side of the gates, standing still, was the man inside the restaurant-- Moose’s owner, for the lack of a better word. Maybe the man saw his expression, whatever was plastered on his face Donghyuck knew not, because he continued “I told you I won’t tell.”

“Okay,” was the only word Donghyuck could answer. It was silent, unnoticed, like a tiny crack on a wall.

The man kept a decent distance between them, as he made a move to sit on the edge of the planter.

“You remember me, right?”

And maybe Donghyuck regretted saying a quiet yes again, because the man breathed a laugh at that, smiled, his eyes on the sidewalk, and said, “Okay. That’s nice.” His voice was soft, and Donghyuck found the tension on his body slowly lifting up.

“Hey, don’t worry. I won’t tell. I don’t break shit I say,” the man urges on. Donghyuck debated with himself whether to trust him, someone he barely knew, about something that may potentially screw his career up and his relationship with the other members.

“Does it show?” Donghyuck asked instead.

“That you’re scared of me? Totally. You ran away twice, if that doesn’t say anything. Just so you know, to ease you up—I let it pass, that day, but never forgot. It’s not everyday I hear things like that from an idol. No one would believe me anyway, not like I'd want to tell on you. But it’s okay, really. You don’t need to worry. Shit happens.”

Donghyuck nodded, finding himself completely lightening up. “Okay,” Donghyuck huffs, “okay.” Maybe he was just exaggerating, that there wasn’t anything to be immensely anxious about. Maybe he was going to be okay. “Thank you.” He added, this time his voice was stronger.

“It’s hard not having to talk to anyone huh?” the man said, and Donghyuck vaguely remembered the scene the guy walked up to a few days ago. He nodded and laughed a little when he pictured himself crouching and spilling secrets to a dog.

“Why are you outside?” Donghyuck asked, when the only thing keeping his ears from ringing was the muffled music from the restaurant.

“Why are _you_?” echoed the man. Somehow, Donghyuck knew it was a tease from the same tone he’d heard back then when he heard him for the first time.

It didn’t make his stomach churn though, unlike last time.

This gave him an idea that maybe the stranger didn’t intend for it to sound like it was back then, and that he was just being paranoid.

The street lamp was barely giving off adequate lighting, but Donghyuck could still see most of the man’s face. He had a smile on, the one that made his breath hitch. Donghyuck stared still, undoubtedly lost in the man’s features, and was only shot out when—

“Haechan.” The other male waved a hand to his face. “You okay?”

Donghyuck blinked, thought his name sounded awfully nice as opposed to how the he said it back then and _oh. That’s right,_ he quickly realized. There _was_ something that had been bugging him. “’ _You don’t look like a Haechan in person,_ ’ you told me back then. What did you mean by that?”

“Oh. That. Well, you looked awfully gloomy that day, which I understand. The sun’s gotta set somehow.” He answered, and Donghyuck felt significantly warmer then, and for whatever reason, he had no idea, but had an inkling. He didn’t want to assume, and so stayed silent.

The stranger didn’t press on the issue all the more which he was completely thankful for.

“Okay,” Donghyuck shuffled and adjusted himself.

There was silence again after that, and it wasn’t like he had come to trust the stranger completely, but he just missed this. It had been a while since he talked to someone like him; calm and serene. Warm.

Or maybe Donghyuck was just being dumb. “What’s your name?” 

The stranger leaned back at that, and Donghyuck could see his eyes widen in surprise. “Oh? I’m Jaewon.”

 _Jaewon_. Donghyuck liked the name.

“What was it again, your real name?” Jaewon then asked. Of course Jaewon didn’t know. Donghyuck knew he wasn’t as known to the public as Taeyong or Jaehyun, and he’d always used Haechan as for the introductions anyway, so it was understandable. (But really, he just wasn’t that famous, stage name or not.)

“Lee Donghyuck.” he answered, watched as the other male nod in response. A breeze came then, but Jaewon was wearing an evidently thicker hoodie. It was cold, but Donghyuck’s stomach felt warm, and it felt weird. His cheeks too, he'd noticed, when he tried cupping his own face.

“Then, Donghyuck,” Jaewon strerched his arms towards him, fingers lightly shivering from the cold. “Nice meeting you.” 

Donghyuck laughed, shivered as he did so, and accepted the handshake. “Nice meeting you too.”

Jaewon’s hands felt rough on his skin. It was nice, and felt just right. Warm. Taeyong and Mark’s were soft, Yukhei’s was too big, and Renjun and Jeno’s just didn’t look right with his.

When they shook hands, their hands were shadowed by Jaewon’s figure. He could still see the silhouette though, and Jaewon’s hand looked just right with his own. They let go after that, with Jaewon loosening his fingers first.

Then Donghyuck's phone vibrated as if on cue and he quickly tapped on the message icon.

“Crap. I gotta go. They want me back inside,” he said. Sadness was what blanketed his voice, and he thought it gave away something, but Jaewon didn’t react to it, whatever it was. He nodded though, and Donghyuck felt gloom more than relief more than he’d want to admit. “Aren’t you gonna go to your friends inside?”

“Yeah, I’ll go back in a bit. You go first. It’d be weird if we go back together inside,” Jaewon answered, eyed Donghyuck for a bit, and then, “You’re shivering. It’s best you go first, warm up a bit.”

 _No, I feel kind of warm,_ Donghyuck wanted to say, but stopped himself, which proved to be the best. “Okay,” he paused, and then, “Okay, I’ll go now. See you, Jaewon.”

Jaewon was a nice name.

He started to walk away, albeit slower than normal, just because, when he heard Jaewon chuckle and say, “Yeah, it’d be cool if we run into each other again, huh?”

And that was just what it took for Donghyuck to turn around and nervously ask for Jaewon’s number.

For why, Donghyuck didn’t care-- didn’t _want_ to care, the thought of meeting him just again seemed so nice, just because they’d talked for no more than twenty minutes out in the cold, and everything that he’d thought bad about Jaewon suddenly disappeared, when all he saw was Jaewon smiling and then hesitantly nodding.

“You sure? Seriously?” Jaewon asked again, “Just to make sure _you’re_ sure because--” but Donghyuck cut him off as he nodded and held out his phone.

 

-

 

Donghyuck entered the restaurant with a tiny smile gracing his face, and felt as equally warm as the temperature inside the place.

And it seemed Jaewon’s drunk friends weren’t as drunk as he thought they were because there was food on their table and were talking like normal (yet still a little doozy), but one guy was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. It was a funny scene.

The glass door then opened and he eagerly watched as Jaewon entered, his cheeks flushed from the cold.

Donghyuck’s heart was beating terribly fast.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/hyucksix) ♧


End file.
